Former Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has argued that Ghana’s persistent struggle with jobs, development, and public frustration is not accidental, but largely self-inflicted, driven by political decisions that deliberately weaken the country’s ability to raise revenue.
The current ranking member on the Economy and Development Committee of Parliament argues that scrapping taxes and diluting revenue measures may be politically attractive in the short term, but they severely damage Ghana’s capacity to deliver on its promises.
The Member of Parliament for Ofoase Ayirebi in the Eastern Region made this reflection in an exclusive interview with The High Street Journal.
Big Promises, But Shrinking Resources
According to Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, many young people voted for the current government because it promised jobs, roads, and development. But those promises require money, and Ghana’s resource basket is already dangerously thin.
He explained that the previous government left behind about 16 percent tax-to-GDP, which is the tax revenue compared to the country’s total economic output. In contrast, OECD countries typically mobilise between 20 and 25 percent of GDP to fund public services.
Instead of building on this, Ghana has moved in the opposite direction. He argued that political underpinnings caused the current administration to scrap some taxes it deemed as nuisance, thereby further reducing the tax to GDP ratio to about 11%.
“Inherently, we should be moving up, not down,” he said. “If you want to expand jobs and development, your revenue base must expand with it.”
From Bad Policy to Borrowing – The Vicious Cycle
The member of the previous administration reflected that the past administrations inherited a revenue-to-GDP ratio of about 19 percent. However, political excitement around tax removals gradually eroded this base.
As revenue fell, governments increasingly turned to borrowing to close the gap. That borrowing, he said, exposed the country to serious debt risks. When global shocks like COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war hit, Ghana crossed critical thresholds, triggering currency depreciation and economic instability.
Ironically, when the situation worsened, governments were forced to reintroduce revenue measures to survive, making them deeply unpopular with citizens who felt betrayed.
For him, it appears the current administration is repeating the same mistakes of old. He argues that it inherited a revenue-to-GDP ratio of about 16 percent but has since reduced it to around 11 percent.
“That is a loss of about five percentage points of GDP,” he stressed. “Today, Ghana’s GDP is roughly one trillion cedis. That is about 50 billion cedis gone.”
In practical terms, he explained, this means the government has far less money to meet rising public demands. When young people demonstrate and ask for promised nursing jobs, roads, or social programmes, the government is pushed into spending mode without the money to support it.
At that point, the options are limited: borrow more, break promises, or impose new taxes.
Politics Undermining Non-Tax Revenue
The ranking member further criticised how political populism is weakening non-tax revenue, especially from natural resources.
He cited Ghana’s lithium agreement, where royalties were initially negotiated at 10 percent. According to him, the law allowed government and private investors to negotiate such terms, and the investor had already agreed.
Reducing the royalty to five percent, he argued, amounts to voluntarily giving away national revenue.
“That is five percent of our lithium gone,” he said. “How do you then get the money to do what you promised the people?”
He dismissed arguments that higher royalties would scare investors, noting that the agreement still requires parliamentary approval, which is the highest level of scrutiny.
A Cycle that Keeps Repeating
At the heart of his argument is a structural problem. Ghana has failed to fix how it mobilises revenue. Instead, political leaders undermine taxes and fees to appear popular, only to later reverse course when reality sets in.
When taxes return, citizens feel deceived. When borrowing increases, debt builds up. And when commitments pile up without funding, the next government inherits a broken system.
He further insists that scrapping revenue measures without fixing structural weaknesses does not help the economy or the people. It only delays pain and deepens future crises.
Kojo Oppong Nkrumah insists that until Ghana confronts its revenue problem honestly and resists politically convenient but economically damaging decisions, the cycle of broken promises, debt distress, and public anger will continue.
